Hoist device for trainable missile launchers



Sept. 5, 1961 R. z. KNAUB ETAL 2,998,753

HOIST 4DEVICE FOR TRAINABLE MISSILE LAUNCHERS Filed June 30. 19552,998,753 HOIST DEVICE FOR TRAIN-ABLE MISSILE LAUNCHERS Richard Z.Knaub, Bethesda, and Hilton H. Hammond,

District Heights, Md., assignors to the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed .lune 30, 1955, Ser. No'.519,288 2 Claims. (Cl. 89-1.7) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code(1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured andused by or for the Government of the United States of America forgovernmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon ortherefor.

The present invention relates to a hoisting device for missiles and moreparticularly to a Winch hoisting device suitable for use and connectableto a conventional missile launcher including a trainable mount such, forexample, as the general type d-isclosed and claimed in Patent No.2,428,761 for Support for Rocket Launchers, granted to Lorenzo A.Richards on October 7, 1947. The hoisting device of the presentinvention supports the missile in accordance with the loading and tiringposition of the mount.

The practice of loading heavy rockets onto missile conventionallaunching slotted shoes for firing has presented many serious problems,not the least of which is that concerning safe and eicient coupling ofthe conventional missile lugs in position for firing on the missilelauncher shoes. Since the missile lugs of an aerodyne or missile are notplaced in any speciilc relationship to the center of gravity of theover-all missile and booster, it is evident that missiles which may beof several tons weight are unwieldy when an attempt is made to align themissile with the launcher shoes and to firmly connect the shoes to theconventional missile lugs or bearings. For example, the prior artmissile loading devices are of a construction which require the missileto be trucked beneath the stationary launcher shoes, and then themissile is hoisted from the dolly or truck to the overhead launchingshoes by suitable apparatus. This procedure not only requires aconsiderable period of time to properly align the missile lugs forconnection to the shoes, but also is dangerous since operating personnelare of necessity stationed beneath the missile in hoisted position tofix the missile to the shoes.

The present invention overcomes the aforesaid difliculties encounteredin prior art devices by the provision of a hoist device connectable to atrainable launcher and including a missile lifting and supportingstructure controlled by a power winch and cable whereupon the missilelifting and supporting structure may be operated to engage theconventional launching rail or shoes on the supporting and liftingstructure with the conventional lugs carried by the missile. It will beunderstood that the aforesaid control means is adapted to move themissile lifting and supporting structure to a position such that thelifting and supporting structure is locked to the housing of the hoistand thus the hoist device and missile will be moved in accordance withthe trainable mount. The mating connection between the launching railsor shoes on the supporting and lifting structure and the lugs on themissile are made when the supporting and lifting structure is in itslowermost position whereupon undue hazard to the operators of the deviceis prevented as the missile can now be loaded onto the rails at aconvenient handling station.

An object of the present invention is to provide a winch hoisting devicehaving a beam assembly which also serves as a launching rail support.

Another object is the provision of a hoisting device Patented Sept. 5,1961 ice for guided missiles which is trainable both for loading amissile and for directional tiring of the missile.

A further object is to provide a missile hoisting beam which issupported and controlled by a launcher assembly and trainable therewith.

Still another object is the provision of a winch hoisting device forloading missiles from a loading position to an elevated firing positionwithout mechanical transfer of the missile on its support.

Another object is to provide a device for handling heavy missiles suchthat personnel activity is confined to an area which affords safemanipulation of the missile from an unloaded position to a loadedposition on the launcher.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill become readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a perspective View of a preferred embodiment of the inventionwith portions partially broken away;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 2-2 of FIG. llooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a detailed showing of a tapered guide pin joining abuttingportions of the device in aligned position; and

FIG. 4 is a front view of the missile shoe illustrating its relationshipwith the lifting beam.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in FIG. l a winch hoisting assembly 10 and lifting andmissile supporting beam 11 supported by assembly 10 for verticalmovement directly below the underside 12 thereof in a manner to beexplained hereinafter. A protective housing 13 is provided for thehoisting assembly 10, the walls 14, 15 of which may serve as mountingsfor various elements of the device. Extending laterally from wall 15 isa tubular member 16 having a terminal circumferential flange 17 providedwith apertures 18. Tubular member 16 is adapted to be rigidly mated bybolts or the like to a corresponding flange 17a of a trunnion tube 16aon a conventional trainable mount pedestal, such, for example, asdisclosed in the afore-mentioned patent and illustrated as element 20,FlG. l of the drawing. By this arrangement the assembly lil and beam 11may be trained and elevated to a desired azimuth bearing.

A power winch 19 is carried by the aft uppermost portion of the housingy13 to drive a pulley train generally designated as 21. A flexiblelinkage 22 such as a fiber rope, chain, cable, or the like is wound onwinch 19 so `as to pay out and take-up cable lead 23 and lead 24 byequal amounts simultaneously. Lead 23 is passed through concave-groovedpulley 25 which is freely rotatable on an axle 26 secured to the innerside of wall 14 at the lower mid-portion thereof and extending normaltherefrom. Pulley 25 functions to align cable lead 23 with a guidepulley 27 of the same type as pulley 25 and which is mounted for freerotation on axle 28 iixed to the inner side of wall 14 at a lowerforward location and extending perpendicular thereto. The cable lead 23passes over the guide pulley 27 to continue through an aperture 29provided in the bottom plate 30 of housing 10. An idler pulley 31 issupported on an axle perpendicular to axles 26 and 28 and in a planeparallel to those in which axles 26 and 28 are located, and is supportedfor free rotation within the forward portion of beam 11.

Cable lead 23 is reeved around pulley 31 and is returned throughaperture 33 of plate 30 to be given a change of direction by guidepulley 34 to extend to a terminal 35. Pulley 34 is mounted for freerotation on an axle fixed to wall 15 of assembly 10 in axial alignmentwith the axle of pulley 27. Terminal 35 consists of an end plate 36which is securely held by walls 14 and 15 to extend transversely fromone wall to the other near the mid-point of assembly 10. An extensionbolt 37 is coupled in axial alignment with the end portion of cable lead23 by a suitable fastening means 38 and extends through central opening40 provided in end plate 36. Bolt 37 is threadedly received by aninternally threaded sleeve 41 which is shown in FIG. 2 on the oppositeside of plate 36 from fastening means 38. Sleeve member 41 passes freelythrough aperture 40 and is constantly urged on the aft side of plate 36by compression coil spring 39 which circumscribes the sleeve 41. Spring39 is confined between inverted cup shaped stops 42l and 43 slidably andcoaxially carried by sleeve member 41, and cap member 44 which iscoupled into the outer end of sleeve member 41 by suitable means toretain stop 43 on sleeve 41. Suitable tensioning of cable lead 23 may beattained by the lineal extent of penetration of bolt 37 into sleeve 41which extent is adjustable by nuts 45 on bolt 37. By the arrangement ofspring 39 with the cable lead 23, shock forces are substantiallydampened when a pull is exerted on the cable lead 23.

Lead 24 of cable 22 extends from its winding about winch 19 downwardlyto pass over the groove of a guide pulley 46 which is mounted for freerotation on an axle 47 which is substantially normal to and iixedly heldby the inner side of wall 15 at lower aft portion of housing 10. Cablelead 24 is continued downwardly from pulley 46 to pass through anaperture 48 in the assembly 10 bottom plate 30 and thence to the grooveof an idler pulley 49 located within the after mid-section of beam 11and in a plane parallel to that plane in which beam pulley 31 ispositioned. Cable lead 24 is rove around. the lower side of pulley 49and is returned upwardly through aperture 51 of bottom plate 30 whichaperture is laterally in line with aperture 48. Another guide pulley 52,which is mounted on axle 53 held Iby the inner side of wall 14 coaxialwith `axle 47 of pulley 46, directs lead 24 thereover to aft terminal 50of similar construction to that of terminal 35. The linear amount ofcompression of the spring of terminal 50 is utilized to trip suitableswitching means, not shown, which in turn controls the operation ofwinch 19. Tapered guide pins 54 and 55, shown in detail in FIG. 3,depend perpendicularly from bottom plate 30 in alignment with matingapertures 56 and 57, respectively, recessed in beam 11 through buttplates 58 and 59 which are stationed on the top side of beam 11 in foreand aft locations, the aforesaid pins and apertures being adapted toguide and lock the beam to the bottom wall 30 of the assembly 10, as thebeam moves into engagement therewith. The hollow elongated rectangularbeam 11 is also provided on its topside with cable receiving slots whichexpose pulleys 31 and 49 for engagement with cable 22. On the lower sideof beam 11 are missile launcher shoes, FIG. 4, numeral 60, attached toilat steel supports 61. To the supports 61 lare bolted tapered pins 63receivable into apertures 62 on the beam platen 64 to which supports 61are ixedly engaged in assembled condition. The shoes 60 are providedwith slots 60a adapted to receive the lugs of a missile to be launchedfrom the shoes 60. As more clearly shown on FIG. l, the pair of mutuallyspaced supports 61 are each connected to a flange 64 carried by the beam11 such for example, as by bolts or the like, the supports beingprovided with a tapered guide pin 63 disposed within and extendingthrough a complementary tapered aperture formed in each flange 64. Itwill be understood that each support 61 is provided with conventionalmissile launcher shoes adapted to engage conventional lugs carried bythe missile and thus open movement the beam 11 by the aforesaid powerwinch and cable yarrangement the missile is moved therewith when theshoes are in engagement with the lugs. Furthermore, since the hoist isconnected to the trainable mount in the aforesaid manner the hoist ismoved from a loaded position to a firing position by the mount.Provision may be made, such as bolt receiving holes, in the lower sideof beam 11 for connecting a plurality of supports 61 at various points.This provision allows missiles of different weights and lengths to beloaded onto the beam in balanced positions.

Operation of the winch hoist device to load a missile on a mount isaccomplished by irst causing the beam 11, normally bottomed againstassembly 10, and assembly 10 to elevate to 0 horizontally by thetrainable mount. That is, the mount through the trunnion arm connectionwith member 16 of the assembly causes the assembly 10 and beam 11 torotate about a horizontal axis as one unit to a 0 attitude. The beam 11is then lowered by paying out of cable 22 from its winding on powerwinch 19 in alignment with a missile positioned below. The mount is thentrained causing simultaneous rotation of beam 11 about a vertical axisand aligned directly over the missile to be attached thereto. Front andrear missile shoes 60 are then bolted into place on the lower side ofbeam 11 and then the beam is carefully lowered until the shoes aresuperjacent the missile lugs, not shown. The missile is moved forward toa position just forward of the shoes on the beam, the beam is loweredslightly until the slots of the shoes are in horizontal alignment withthe lugs, and the beam is finally moved by hand so that the shoe slotsslide into the missile lugs and lock in place. The missile is then inloaded condition on the beam and is ready to be elevated to firingposition in subjacent relationship with the support assembly 10. Powerwinch 19 is energized by suitable control means to wind cable 22 ontothe winch thereby uniformly lifting the beam to bottom against the lowerplate 30 of assembly 10, the beam being ialigned in correct positionrelative to the assembly by means of taper guide pins 54 and 55. Whenthe spring of terminal 53 is compressed to a predetermined limit by theforce exerted on cable 23 as beam 11 is bottomed against the undersideof assembly 10, the power supply to winch 19 is terminated by electricalswitching activated by mechanical connecting elements in contact withthe spring of terminal 53. The beam 11 and the missile attached thereto,together with the support assembly 10, may be trained and elevated byconventional lire control means arranged to command the movements of themount, a side portion 20 of which is shown in FIG. 4, to which thepresent device is attached as stated herebefore. No further missileconnections or movement is required on the beam to prepare the missilefor launching, since the missile is ready for tiring when mated on theshoes carried by the beam.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A winch hoisting device connectable to and controllable by a missilelauncher of the trainable type for supporting a missile in a loaded andtiring position in accordance with the position of the launcher andcomprising a housing having a pair of mutually spaced side walls, abottom and a top wall in spaced relation with respect to each other andconnecting said side walls, a

tubular member carried by one of said side walls and v having anapertured ange integrally formed thereon connectable to the launcher ofthe trainable type for supporting the device upon the launcher such thatthe device is controlled by said launcher, a power winch supported byand on one end of said housing, a first pair of pulleys rotatablymounted on said side walls and disposed within said housing, a secondpair of pulleys rotatably mounted on said side walls and disposed withinthe housing in spaced relation with respect to said first pair ofpulleys, a guide pulley rotatably mounted on one of said side walls anddisposed within the housing substantially centrally between said firstand the second pair of pulleys, a movable lifting beam disposed beneathsaid bottom wall of the housing and having a pair of mutually spacedconical apertures formed therein, a iirst idle pulley mounted on saidbeam and cooperating with said first pair of pulleys, a second idlepulley mounted on said beam yand cooperating with said second pair ofpulleys, a first and second shock dampening device supported within thehousing between said side walls, means carried by and secured to saidside Walls for supporting said lirst and second shock dampening devicesWithin said housing between the side walls, a exible oable disposedabout said power winch and having a pair of free ends disposed withinthe housing, one free end of the cable being reeved over said first pairof pulleys and the rst idle pulley and secured to said first shockdampening device, the other free end of said cable being reeved oversaid second pair of pulleys, second idle pulley and said guide pulleyand connected to said second shock dampening device, means carried bysaid rst shock dampening device for connecting said one end of the cablethereto, means carried by said second shock dampening device forconnecting said other end of the cable thereto, a pair of mutuallyspaced conical elements carried by said bottom Wall engageable in saidpair of apertures respectively for guiding and locking the beam to saidhousing as the beam moves into abutting engagement with said bottom wallthrough the medium of said power winch, pulleys and the cable, and meanscarried by said beam engageable with a missile for supporting themissile.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said rst and second shockdampening devices include a sleeve slidably mounted in saidsupportingmeans, a bolt threaded into one end of said sleeve and having 'anadjustable nut threaded thereon normally in engagement with saidsupporting means, cable securing means carried by said bolt for securingthe cable to the bolt, a cup-shaped stop mounted on said sleeve at oneend thereof, lan additional cup-shaped stop disposed about said sleeveat the other end thereof, and a spring disposed about said sleevebetween said stops for dampening the shock forces as a sudden and severepull is exerted on the cable.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 943,956Sawyer Dec. 21, .1909 1,049,839 Fraser Ian. 7, 1913 1,745,053 RomineIan. 28, 1930 2,335,446 Richardson Nov. 30, 1943 2,365,521 Brooke Dec.19, 1944 2,381,913 Leaver et al. Aug. 14, 1945 2,463,394 King Mar. l,1949

